A dispute about whether a terminally ill woman should have tea and toast or an orange set off 63-year-old Paul Gilkey of Logan, Ohio. Gilkey responded to the argument by retrieving a semi-automatic handgun and killing his two sisters-in-law, ages 70 and 63, and his 38-year-old son. He allowed his stepson to leave the house. "He let me leave because I have kids," said the stepson. Gilkey shot and killed himself a few hours later. His wife, Darlene, who watched as her husband shot and killed her son and her two sisters, died a few days later. Gilkey had served more than a decade in prison for killing a man. As a convicted felon, Gilkey was prohibited from possessing a firearm. The local sheriff speculated that the gun was likely purchased from an individual, flea market, or gun show in order to circumvent the background check. He also noted that it would have been impossible for law enforcement to know if Gilkey had guns because there isn't a registry or database to check.

Speaker's Corner

The first anniversary of the terrible shooting deaths in Tucson, Arizona was observed in Seattle with a candlelight vigil. Washington Ceasefire, Congressman Jim McDermott, and members of the public tired of the relentless violence and deaths of the innocents came together to remember ALL victims of gun violence, to stand united, and to let voices be heard. We can do better. Washington Ceasefire isn't seeking to restrict the public from keeping handguns in the home. But it IS seeking gun sanity. It's seeking common sense. It's seeking to open up the conversation with the public and shed light on the issue for what it is : a public health threat. Fact : A gun in the home increases the risk of homicide of a household member by 3 times and the risk of suicide by 5 times compared to homes where no gun is present. It's easily verifiable. And yet vast numbers of people don't give a gun lying under their pillow a second thought. But it's not statistics that opens our eyes. It's stories. The man shot and left to die on a sidewalk by an unknown assailant, the little girl killed in Burien when a gun discharges by accident from a neighboring apartment, the co-worker who's 12 year old daughter shoots herself with a family gun. Join us. Tell those stories. The reality is that guns don't make us safer and the statistics show it. So do the stories.

A federal judge in Lubbock, Texas threw out a lawsuit from the NRA that challenged Texas law prohibiting 18-to-20-year-olds from carrying concealed handguns, saying "Texas has identified a legitimate state interest - public safety -and passed legislation that is rationally related to addressing that issue."

A federal judge threw out a case backed by the NRA that challenged new reporting requirements for gun dealers in border states, ruling that "multiple sales of certain powerful long guns is a strong indicator of gun trafficking" and the "ATF acted rationally" in asking for sales data in the border states.

The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a California appeal and let stand a state appeals court ruling upholding a California law that imposes a 10-year ban on gun ownership for anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime involving violence or threats of force.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords announced that she will resigned from Congress in a message posted on YouTube. Giffords has "determined that it will take more time" to recover from being shot in the head in 2011.

Missouri police and prosecutors navigate the castle doctrine. In one recent killing St. Louis police sought second-degree murder charges but prosecutors decline to file them because of the new castle doctrine law.

South Dakota Judiciary Committee voted 7-5 to kill a bill that would have allowed people to carry concealed handguns in public without first having to get a permit.

A new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that Safe Streets Baltimore, a replication of Chicago's CeaseFire program,has effectively reduced gun violence in three of the four violent Baltimore neighborhoods were the program is used. Click here to read the full study.

David Drake, guest columnist Des Moines Register, This Guy's Not Packin' Heat Any More, talks about why he no longer carries a concealed handgun and the need for mandatory range training before someone can get a ccw permit.

Thomas Fisher, University of Minnesota, Guns Don't Kill People, Bullets Do, details the high cost of gun violence and ponders the possibility of charging the ammunition industry for the costs incurred due to the availability of cheap ammunition.

Dr. Art Kamm, Art on Issues, Sacrificing Our Children in the Name of the Second Amendment, looks at the "grossly disproportionate" rate of firearm deaths in minors in the U.S. as compared to peer countries, and policies that contribute to this ongoing tragedy including "market expansion policies for gun products."